Justice News

Crew sentenced for illegally purchasing 33 guns and trafficking them from Georgia to New York

ATLANTA - Terrance Rainey, Talante Fisher-Bland, Brittni Dixon, Martavius Askew, and Donnisha Miles have been sentenced for their respective roles in illegally purchasing and trafficking 33 firearms from Georgia to New York.

“Gun trafficking fuels violent crime and is a grave threat to our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The lengthy prison sentences received by these defendants should serve as a serious warning to others tempted to supply criminals with firearms by lying to licensed gun dealers.”

“One of ATF’s top priorities is to deny criminals access to firearms and protect the rights of law abiding citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Arthur Peralta. “These offenders illegally obtained and then trafficked firearms that could have been used to injure law abiding citizens and destroy the sanctity of our communities; ATF takes these threats very seriously.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In August 2016, the defendants engaged in a scheme to unlawfully purchase 33 firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer that they then trafficked to Rochester, New York. Fisher-Bland recruited Dixon and Askew to purchase guns for Parson and Rainey, a convicted felon. Rainey recruited Miles to purchase guns for him and Parson. The crew purchased the guns from Liquidation Outlet, a gun dealer in Atlanta. The defendants who made the gun purchases lied by swearing on ATF forms that they were purchasing the guns for themselves, when in fact, the guns were intended for other co-defendants who transported the firearms to New York. Law enforcement officers recovered several of the guns from convicted felons and others who used the firearms in committing various crimes in New York.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the following offenses:

●Terrance Rainey, 33, of Rochester, New York, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Rainey pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, aiding and abetting the transfer of firearms to an out-of-state resident, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon on January 5, 2018.

●Talante Fisher-Bland, 25, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Fisher-Bland pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer on January 5, 2018.

●Brittni Dixon, 25, of Jonesboro, Georgia, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer and was previously sentenced to four months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release on September 14, 2017.

●Martavius Askew, 25, of Meansville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer and was previously sentenced to one year and six months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release on October 16, 2017.

●Donnisha Miles, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer and aiding and abetting the transfer of firearms to an out-of-state residence. Miles was previously sentenced to one year and five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release on February 26, 2018.

●A sixth co-defendant, Latrell Parson, 22, of Rochester, New York pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, and aiding and abetting the transfer of firearms to an out-of-state resident on January 10, 2018. Parson will be sentenced on May 1, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Atlanta, Georgia, and Rochester, New York Field Divisions and the Rochester Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.